[FWDLK] origin of MoPar

[Terry & Andree Hoeman <tehoema@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This subject just came up in the 300 group this morning and I Happened to 
remember this write-up inside the original parts binder logo glass set which 
was issued by Chrysler in the late 80's as I remember.

Some interesting additional trivia but bottom line is that Chrysler thinks 
that they started using the MoPar logo in 37.  Would have sworn it was a few 
years before that but---

Sounds like the origin of mr. tech is included here but not stated as such.

Here is the official Chrysler writeup which was inside volume I.


---------------------------------------------

The Evolution of a Trademark

> From 1933 to 1937 Chrysler Motor Parts featured a logo with the letters C, 
P, D and D, for Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge and DeSoto.  This led to the Mopar 
trademark becoming one of the most familiar trademarks in automotive 
history.  However, we’ll bet you didn’t know that it evolved from a group of 
unlikely characters that included a genius, a camel and a robot.

The genius was Nelson I. Farley, Chrysler Division’s sales promotional 
manager in the 1930s.  Farley had established a “think tank” called the 
Activities Council, whose purpose was to brainstorm new merchandising ideas 
and report them to him.

In the spring of 1937, this activities council was working on the creation 
of a product name to put on cans of Chrysler Motor Parts antifreeze that was 
being used in their cars.  The group, after many suggestions, came up with a 
simple name that would be easy to remember: a combination of the words 
motors and parts – hence the word…MOPAR.

Now Chrysler needed a logotype for the trade name.  The first attempt, 
created by a man named Burke Bartlett, was a bright purple logo arranged in 
a vertical arrow.  Farley immediately rejected it because he didn’t like the 
downward pointing arrow or the use of the color purple.

The next design became one of the most famous and distinctive trademarks of 
the century, the unique signpost of the Chrysler Parts Division.

The Activities Council then came up with a way to introduce the new acronym 
to the public.  They created a character named “Mr. Mopar” who made his 
first debut in the form of a camel.

In 1937 the Shriners national convention came to Detroit, and Chrysler 
Corporation’s Parts Division was creating a corporate float for the opening 
parade.  A camel seemed to fit right in.  The float was made up of piston 
rings, cylinders, push rods, oil pans, etc.  Of course, the camel needed 
someone to lead it.

A year or two earlier, a man named Vern Dupuis had made a small “mechanical 
man” fashioned out of parts.  The group found this mechanical man, named him 
“ACCY,” an abbreviation for accessory, and put him in front of the camel. 
An employee in full Moslem dress sat atop the camel and the float was a big 
hit.

Eleven years later when Dupuis was in the Merchandising and Development 
Department he modified “ACCY” into a moving and speaking robot and renamed 
him “Mr. Mopar.”  A later version of this robot made television appearances 
from coast to coast.


Today, the familiar Pentastar and Mopar signature in process blue is seen on 
the package designs and labeling of more than 40,000 quality-engineered 
original equipment replacement parts.

So what’s in a name?  An entire history.  If the name is “Mopar,” it stands 
for “Motor” and “Parts” and quality engineering.  The color of the name, 
like Chrysler, is always blue.

(source:  inner cover of box that looks like a “MoPar Passenger Car Parts 
List” and contains Chrysler logo glasses from 1933-1958.)

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